Indeed, forced is the word I'd use as well. It's not a bad idea, but it just didn't get fleshed out as far as it could have. Would be nicer if it was cropped around the face; we don't need to see the entire subway to get the context.

That, and I think it's that the illustration they used to make the face looks really half-assed. I know subway maps can't be overly-complicated, but adjusting the lines to give his face more detail would have been nicer. What if they had just crammed all the lines, including the extraneous stuff, into his face? That would have been richer and deliver a stronger message.